Commercial food service equipment is often supported upon a floor by legs or casters. Most equipment in commercial kitchens is set to a common work height. Adjustable legs and leveling devices are used to allow for height adjustments to achieve a common height regardless of factory preset heights. Height adjustments are also needed where the floor is not level or even.
Casters are usually not adjustable in height. Those few that are normally require different mountings than those for the fixed legs or feet that they replace. For safety these must be designed so that a leg or caster may not come off during adjustment. These thus have tended to require rather complex machined adjustment components as exemplified by that shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des 334,136.
In addition, food service equipment often needs to be adopted to either a mobile or immobile configuration at installation. For example, pizza ovens installed in a pizzeria normally have fixed legs while those installed in a convention center have casters for relocation from time to time. Ease of convertibility without the need for change in the equipment's legs or leg sockets is thus desirable.
Adjustable casters have existed which have an upper portion 1 mounted to the bottom of the food service equipment leg and a bottom portion or foot 2 which is adjustable in height, as shown in FIG. 1. The upper portion includes a stainless steel tubular housing 3 and a metal, threaded post 4. The food service equipment leg is threaded onto the top portion of the threaded post while the foot is threaded for adjustable movement upon the bottom portion of the threaded post. The post is fixedly mounted to the tubular housing by welding metal rings 5 to the interior of the tubular housing and to the threaded post. However, problems commonly arises with these casters which stem from these welded rings. If the metal rings are not properly centered within the housing the foot will be off-centered from the housing. A large offset may prevent the foot from being inserted into the housing. A smaller offset may cause the gap 6 between the housing and the foot therein to be uneven or asymmetrical, thereby creating a gap size therebetween to be greater than those allowed by the food service industry regulations, for a gap greater than the minimal size creates an area which allows insects to enter.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for height adjustable supports for food service equipment of more simplified construction and which provides a uniform construction and installment. It is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.